# King, Warrior, Magician, Lover Or, as in Elisha Long (a.k.a. 21st century Diogenes) would like to put it: Retard, psycho, killer, pervert. I am going to drop some insane knowledge on you fellas (sorry ladies), but in an age completely devoid of rituals, where everything is so sterile and engineered to turn your whole life into sellable data by manipulating our mammal brains, this right here is what you need to connect with in order to return to being a proper man. If you ever felt that there were opposing arguments in your mind, if you felt you ever behaved differently depending on the situation, if you feel that some parts of you are asleep, not integrated, or perhaps been dominating how you feel, the book "King, Warrior, Magician, Lover", by the minds of Robert L. Moore and Douglas Gillette will clarify all your doubts. This book entertains ideas you will probably find amusing, it touches myth, religion, politics, archetypes (+1 for Jung) and somehow connects them together while explaining and talking about our psyche. It also does something which I absolutely adore, which is to compare ourselves with our way of living millennia ago. If you think about it, our brain hasn't changed all that much, we still work the same way as the people we like to call "primitive". Recently, as I watched ケンガンアシュラ (best fighting anime, reminds me a lot of 賭博黙示録カイジ) (I am too much of a weeb, bear with it onegaishimasu kudasai desu), this particular character, [河野 春夫](https://kenganverse.fandom.com/wiki/Kono_Haruo) illustrates my point perfectly: Growing up, many legends surrounded Haru, with his most defining one being when he effortlessly cleared his coming of age trial at the age of 15. From this point, in his village, Haru came to be known as the strongest of the Gurkhas and he soon became the village leader. [...] Upon coming to Japan, Haru was absorbed into the wonders and vices of his new environment, and soon gained a massive amount of weight, began wearing glasses, and became addicted to sweets and video games. This all contributed to the making of his current identity of "Kono Haruo". We became too much used to this, progressively more individualistic, materialistic, less in touch with nature and the divine, the mystic, the gods. We don't connect with that, we don't even think critically anymore, we don't allow ourselves to, nor feeling, numbed all the time while being profited off. So, enough with the ramblings, on to the book. This books talks a bit about that as well and well, it says that since we became so individually detached from all the rituals and context that allowed us to flourish, we might as well tackle the problem: individually. Which means it is up to us, via active imagination, invocation, or whatever method we prefer, to call upon these four archetypes. These are my interpretations of the four. King: the orchestrator, self-confidence, the "don't take bullshit" part, the realm's authority. As such, it is necessary to keep the others in check, since they work for the realm as well. Warrior: motivation, courage, bravery, competitiveness, it can be dull or thick if you want, but boy it can bring you down to earth, above all, it is practical and efficient. I believe it focuses on the future. Can become anxious and restless. Magician: loves knowledge and the abstract, it is a bit detached from experience and enjoys complexity. It brings certain aloofness. It enjoys the esoteric and the occult. I believe it focuses on the past. Can become overanalysing. Lover: it is the one that enjoys sunsets, music, sensuality and the erotic, aesthetics, literature, writing, the arts and last but not least: connection! This one likes to smoke tobacco. I believe it focuses on the present. This one is completely immersed in their experience and enjoys the pleasures of life. Can become nostalgic. It is important to mention that we are not these archetypes, as these are perfect and supreme ideals passed down since the dawn of men, we should not try to become them since that would be like trying to become a God (which is impossible). Rather, draw or invoke their qualities and let them express through us. Careful though, they all have shadows. If you pay attention, these are all necessary to have a fulfilling life. Not all of them are 100% active at all times, nor are their functions described here isolated from the rest, sometimes the Magician is so eager it prompts you to act in favor of gaining knowledge, sometimes the Lover is courageous, sometimes the King needs to learn. Take it with a grain of salt. Each of them has their moments to shine, but they work together as a council and have each other's backs ;) This is a crucial step for integration, I'm telling ya. Next book: Der Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse (the guy who wrote Siddharta, which you should read as well). Bye-bye.